What’s up sports fans. Well it happened. I’m sure by now your like me trying to piece together the last 48 hours of the NBA trade deadline, like a bad night of alcohol binging. You know that feeling of a massive headache, not sure where anything is, and the worst is trying to piece together why you threw you pants in the shower. The good thing is those days are long gone for me. Some thirty years ago in college. I gotta be careful here. I might be revealing my age. The bad thing is we aren’t in college we are in the present day of the last 48 hours of the trades, they’re for real and no one was drunk. Although some people might be thinking Joe Lacob, and Peter Guber were when they made a trade that Warriors fans and NBA aficionados might be scratching there heads about.
I’m sure your well aware that in the last 48 hours the Golden State Warriors traded long time 2 guard, and scoring machine Monta Ellis to the Milwaukee Bucks. They also sent a developing and budding defensive standout Ekpe U’doh and 7 foot center Kwame Brown to Milwaukee. In return Golden State got Andrew Bogut and , god I can’t believe I’m about to write this, STEPHEN JACKSON!! Yes, our old Capt. Jack was expected to return to the Warriors. But hold on, wait a minute, the Warriors attempt to make up for this trade, by trading Capt. Jack to San Antonio for Richard Jefferson , T.J. Ford and the Spurs 2012 first round pick. Now I gotta be honest with you in the beginning of this trade I was extremely upset. Because I’m a Monta Ellis fan, and I just couldn’t see the W’s trading him before Andris Biedrins. What is also notable is as much as everyone is warming up to Steph Curry, and I agree, cause I like Curry too.
But if I had to pick someone to get traded it probably would have been Steph. Simply because he’s not in my opinion as durable a player as the Warriors need right now. I just thought that Curry needs more conditioning. Well let’s face it, the whole team needs that. But to me if one of them has to go, it would’ve been Curry, with Andris. I also thought Andris would’ve be gone before Ellis would. And how do you just let a rising defensive player like Ekpe go? Okay so, we trade Kwame, which I can see that. He’s injured. But we trade an injured center to get an injured center? If this trade would’ve stayed the way it originally was portrayed I would be still upset. Getting Capt. Jack now is like trying to re-sign Chris Mullin. Don’t get me wrong Chris is a great player, and is in the Hall of Fame, but were not trying to get him to play now. His career is over.
So is Stephen Jackson’s. If he try’s to comeback at the end of this season, who would sign him? I’m not trying to bad mouth Stephen Jackson either, it’s just that it is what it is. You play in the NBA for a time and then you move on to something else. Unless Capt. Jack can prove me wrong, I think after this season I wouldn’t be surprised if he did retire.
Lacob & Guber didn’t get run through the “You screwed the trade up.” ringer long enough before they cleaned it up by getting Jefferson and T.J. Ford. Richard Jefferson is a nice acquisition. Andrew Bogut on the other hand is still a work in progress. Larry Riley was on Comcast Sportsnet last night during the Warriors loss to the Celtics, and stated to Jim Barnett and Bob Fitzgerald that the Warriors doctors believe that Andrew Bogut injury to his leg will heal and he can be ready by next season. This is the problem I have with that prognosis. Doctors make mistakes all the time, and no one can know Bogut’s future, at the end of the day Lacob & Guber are gambling with the fans season with this trade. If it works this post I’m writing will probably get burnt off the internet. But if I’m right you who have read it will be remembering this post. I hope I’m wrong.
But they did get Jefferson, and on the business side of the NBA by trading Ellis, U’doh and Brown they’re looking for to the future results of this trade. The problem I have is that when you look at the franchise track record for trades, it is down right brutal. If your a Warrior fan like me, then you know the saying. If we could bring back every player we’ve traded in the last five years we’d have the NBA championship for the next ten years. Bogut is 7’0 foot at 260lbs. He averaged with Milwaukee 11 points, 8 rebounds with two block shots per game. If he’s healthy he could add what the Warriors want, more beef in the paint. Richard Jefferson is 6’7 at 225lbs. He averaged 9 pts. and about 3.5 rebounds per game. But I think with him it’s playing time. I’ve seen Richard Jefferson light it up when he get hot. Well it doesn’t matter now.
What’s done is done. Warriors executives only want to dwell on the positives of this trade, and this season was short so the trade won’t really matter until next year anyway. We will see Monta’s reaction on the court tomorrow night when the Milwaukee Bucks take on his former Golden State Warriors. What’s your take on the trade. Tell me what you think. Remember folks, it’s ALLBAYAREASPORTS.COM Bay Area Sports Magnified!